As clean-up efforts continue in the eastern United States in the wake of Hurricane Irene, the next tropical Atlantic storm has already formed. The National Hurricane Center predicted Tuesday that Tropical Storm Katia could become a full-blown hurricane by Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Katia is racing west across the Atlantic Ocean at 35 kilometers per hour. Katia's top winds have already been recorded at more than 95 kilometers per hour.

National Hurricane Center experts say it is too early to predict a path for the Atlantic's 11th named storm. Forecasters believe Katia will become a Category Three storm on a five-point scale Wednesday and approach the Caribbean's Leeward Islands by Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center said the beginning of September is the peak of hurricane season. National Hurricane experts predict an active 2011 hurricane season with eight to 10 hurricanes possible. An average hurricane season typically yields as many as eight storms.